VMK: Saving Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom

This is the story of how Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) came to its end and how and why it doesn’t have to be that way.

The year is 1959. Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom of Disneyland is just about to enter its third year of operations. Disneyland has been very successful not just in attendance, but in creating a new type of community; a remaking of Main Street America in Walt’s image. Walt calls Disneyland his great experiment. He uses it to cross-promote his movies, television shows, and his growing interest in urban planning.

However, something is not quite right. The surrounding area has penned his magical kingdom in with cheap looking motels and tourist traps. Disneyland really needs to grow, add new attractions, even remake whole parts of the theme park that just aren’t working. Walt has got grand ideas, add a steel roller coaster hidden inside the Matterhorn, bring online a monorail system (even extending to Downtown Los Angeles), remake parts of Fantasyland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland and even Main Street. Perhaps to open even a whole new city where urban blight will be a thing of the past.

All that will cost money, take time, and talent. Those are resources Walt could use elsewhere in his growing company. So he decides that his ‘experiment’ in 360 degree themed entertainment has been a success. But he wants those customers go enjoy one of his other projects where there is a higher margin so he can afford his future plans.

So, shocking everyone who has come to love and enjoy Disneyland, worked there, made friends there, even come to regard its wide avenues and wondrous attractions as part of Americana itself, Walt Disney decides to end his experiment and set up shop elsewhere (perhaps Florida, where he’ll have more room).

In retrospect, we know that Walt Disney would have been crazy to make that move. Spending the money in the years between 1959 and 1967 was a great investment in Disneyland and in the Disney company brand. But at the time, it probably seemed like a reasonable option when faced with plenty of other opportunities to spend that cash.

Plus, by 1959, just a scant four years after opening, Disneyland really did belong to America. Walt’s tie-ins with his other properties (Mickey Mouse Club, True Life Adventures, the animated films) and his great sense of knowing what Americans wanted in their entertainment diet, even if they didn’t, made sure that Disneyland and America were inextricably tied.

Now, I’m not trying to equate the Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) with present day Disneyland. But isn’t it a lot like Disneyland was in 1959?

Ironically, Disneyland plays a part in the killing of VMK, or rather, the way the Walt Disney Company does its internal accounting played a role. You see while you and I may see The Walt Disney Company as one behemoth organization with just a few brands — Disney, ESPN, Pixar (?) — that’s even how it presents itself in the annual report, the company sees itself as hundreds of little businesses (or divisions) each operating on two levels of sales.

The first level is with the general public. Each division is required to maximize its sales to the public. Eisner and crew saw this as a short term thing with 20% profits required from nearly every business unit (down to each individual churro cart at the theme parks) in order to justify its continued existence. Was that magic margin not reached, then cuts were required. Luckily it seems as if the current management team is a little more broad and long-term in its thinking. But they still want to maximize profit.

The second level is internal sales. As it turns out when Disneyland wants something built by Imagineering, they have to “pay” WDI to do it for them. Yes, it’s still the same company, but internal accounting rules require it. Those Pirates Of The Caribbean premieres at Disneyland the last five years? All paid for by Walt Disney Pictures, even the extra cast member hours required to staff the event.

When Disney Parks (I still hate that name for the division — could it be any less magical) wanted an online promotion as part of the world wide celebration of Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary, they paid Disney Online to set it up for them. Disney Online then went and licensed the software from Sulake Corporation to build the Virtual Magic Kingdom. I understand that Disney Online also did some additional programming work on top of what Sulake provided.

There have been some discussions recently that VMK is closing due to the original licensing agreement with Sulake coming to an end. Sulake did just sign an ‘exclusive’ agreement with Paramount Studios to provide virtual worlds for their film properties. That may have had something to do with it, but I haven’t been able to confirm that one way or another.

What I am hearing is that Disney Parks considers the 50th Anniversary promotion all wrapped up. They cut off funding for the project to Disney Online many months ago and that Disney Online has been looking at ways to continue VMK since then despite the loss of internal funding.

To switch to a pay-for-play system would require re-coding the entire game nearly from the ground up. It’s not even clear that Sulake would license them to do so. VMK has not attracted the kinds of numbers that would sustain an advertising supported system, and it’s not clear that Disney would want to do that anyway. Plus Disney does have other virtual worlds that these players can migrate too, so it’s not as if they’re totally cut off. Without any funds coming from the promotional budget of another department, it was time to turn out the virtual lights at the Virtual Magic Kingdom.

So, I guess the real villain of this story is Disney Parks who paid for the creation of such a wonderful place like VMK; fostered an online community of die-hard brand loyalists; and then cut off funding for the project without a care for the world they created and the people that inhabit it.

Of course, none of this internal accounting matters to fans of Disney’s VMK. They just know that their virtual Disneyland is going away.

Many of them are fighting mad. They’re doing what they can with websites, letters, petitions, comments to this blog and every other story they can find, in order to saveVMK.

As of this writing savevmk.com has over 11,000 signatures on its petition and www.savevmktoday.com has over 7800. While there is probably some overlap there, that’s fairly large numbers. But in Disney’s world of accounting, it’s probably not enough to save VMK.

Game operators at VMK have responded to the player’s outcry:

Please know that the decision to close VMK was not made without a great deal of thought and discussion – because we loved creating VMK just as much as you loved playing it. We considered many options prior to closing but ultimately determined that VMK had accomplished its goal and then some. VMK was a valuable part of the Disneyland 50th Celebration, but it was never meant to live on forever. It’s now time to focus our resources on our new virtual worlds.

If you read between the lines you see the fingerprints of internal accounting everywhere in this statement. You also see a decision to abandon the game. I’m sure it was not made lightly. But it was made nonetheless and they don’t appear likely to reverse it.

So what can Disney do to relieve some of the pain being felt by their players?

Having been actively involved in various internet communities since the early 90s, I’ve gone through a few of these situations myself. Of the two that stand out, one was a Listserv (automated email list) and the other a MUD (a text based virtual world). In both cases they were shuttered by the owner, but rescued by a sympathetic system admin who had access to a recent subscriber list. Listservs and MUDs are fairly easy to set up assuming you have access to server resources required to run them. Both communities survive to this day, different from the original, but close enough that friends were able to stay in contact, etc.

The situation with Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom is a bit different. First, its not a bunch of college students playing hookie from class to complete that last quest before they level. Second, VMK has a lot of children. There are restrictions on chatting and what-not that restrict the dynamic of the game, but also made it a relatively safe place to play online. Along the same lines privacy is taken seriously, Disney isn’t just going to hand over the subscriber list to anyone. Third, Disney has internal goals. Those include directing existing players to other products.

That does not excuse Disney from setting up some sort of safe place where the community can still function while it transitions. This not only provides a win for the community, but a channel to direct these players to other properties, perhaps even as focus group members or other special status. It could be a discussion group (similar to Google groups) or a special sub-area of one of the new games where VMK handles and logins will still work. There are no doubt a few technical and privacy challenges to overcome here, but certainly fewer than recreating VMK from the ground up.

One of the lessons of Web 2.0, Social Media, whatever you want to call, it is that there is a responsibility to the community you foster. The information superhighway is now a two way street with content being created by brands and by consumers of those brands. There is co-ownership of that content. You have to respect the bonds that creates.

The decision to terminate VMK would be different if it was a buy-out or the Walt Disney Company was in financial trouble of some sort. Fans and players expect some change in those instances. However, neither are the case here. Instead this is abandonment of loyal brand loving consumers, pure and simple.

The game itself may die, but Disney’s responsibility to the community does not. I’m hoping that Disney will make some sort of effort to do the right thing and create a transitional space for VMK’s community until it is able to find a home in one of the other nooks and crannies of the net. It may not be the easiest thing to do, but it’s the right thing to do. Your fans will thank you for it instead of hate you as is happening now.

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38 thoughts on “VMK: Saving Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom”

Excellent analysis piece. Very sad. I still say Disney relies too much on their reputation and doesn’t tout their products well. I know it has become the ICON standard among business/entertainment professionals, however, out of sight is definitely out of mind. Relying on people who have young children, using a search engine to find info about Disney World/Land does not constitute great advertising. WD only provides a landing spot for those already searching for info on them. New participants are at a premium with all the wonderful innovative places to explore on the Internet. For a company I have always adored, and whom my daughter has been a steadfast employee for over 12 years, I find their willingness to add resorts at the drop of a hat an affront when so many avenues could use the revenue as well, or even better. Thanks again for enlightening us.

Thank you so much for your continued interest in our little world. The closing of this game has been so sad for so many people. Just knowing that someone out there cares and understands our outcry, eases the pain just a little. Its nice to know that you are reporting on this.

Thank you for writing this article. I completely agree that Disney has a responsibility to the VMK community. Disney has set a bad precedent with the closing of VMK. My family has put a great deal of time and energy into VMK building rooms and rides and making friends. We don’t have it in our hearts to trust Disney again with another online venture. The whole thing has left a bad taste with us for Disney in general. Hopefully that will fade with time. Hopefully.

Thanks for posting on the BOF blog and posing your question. I’m a Disney freak. My relationship with Disney comes from the early days of family vacations to college trips to now taking my family to WDW and DL. Sadly of all the things in my life I feel PASSIONATE about, I have the least relationship with Disney as a brand.

Seth Godin in his latest book “Meatball Sundae” ends the book with a short note for Bob Iger. It’s brilliant. The first problem is Disney really listening to US. The second problem here is that online experience for Disney is treated as a separate department, and VMK sadly was possibly just seen as a transaction. Godin points out that Disney can no longer keep new media guys and gals in a separate room. Or this kinda stuff will continue to happen.

This rich experience that you loved has been taken away… it hurts. The only option is to make your voice heard like you’ve done with this blog and of course good old fashioned letter writing. Hopefully Disney too will learn from things like VMK that the web is different it has a permanence.

The thing that troubles me most is that so many companies are trying to establish online games where players intereact creatively rather than just react to a game engine. Disney, through VMK, accomplished that very thing and I really think they need to take a long, hard look at this decision. VMK has become a family destination just as the real parks are a notch above their competition. Pirates, ToonTown, are great games and I suspect Fairies and Cars will be as well. But they are all games geared for target groups. None will appeal across the board for ages, genders, generations. The beauty of the artwork, the creativity VMK engendered through the use of the room creations, deserve so much more support. What a waste. What a sad, shameful waste of something so unique and so perfectly attuned to the Disney mantra of family entertainment.

The thing that gets me is that so many companies are trying to find ways to get children to interreact creatively to a game rather than merely react passively to a game engine. VMK achieved that through the mix of community and sheer beauty. Just as the real Disney parks are a notch above the competition as family vacation experiences, VMK served as a family destination rather than a simple game. What a waste. What a sad, shameful waste of a beautifully designed, brilliantly interactive cyber world that suited familys across gender and age.

Thank you for following this story so closely. Finally some attention to the point that people cant share email or IM info in the game. It’s limited dictionary and rules enforced by moderators do create a safe environment. These same rules are what makes this particular environment even more tragoc when closing. If they shut VMK off they are literally cutting friends off from each other, its the only way they can communicate. Once gone, friendships are lost forever.

Thank you so much for your continued coverage and support — we knew there were people out there who understood what we are experiencing. We know that there are people out there with hearts. We can only hope that we find the one heart that we so desperating need…the one heart that will grant us our dream in the Year of a Million Dreams…

John,
Your dedication to following this story from your first blog covering it is commendable. Thank you for taking the time to understand, research, and address the entire scope of this pending closure.

You address a very key issue that Disney seems to fail to recognize: responsibility and co-respect to their own community.

Disney succeeded in building a magical environment WITH the partnership of loyal VMK players who stood by them as Disney grew their little virtual community. Now, when the community members are not only wanting to stay, but are almost asking to have the option to pay to do so, Disney is turning its back.

Yes, VMK may have started as a mere promotion. However, it evolved into a community – with REAL people connected to it. Just like Walt was wise enough not to lock up Disneyland to share the magic elsewhere, will those in charge today find the wisdom to KEEP the magical place they created while they attempt to grow other lands for penguin and fairy fans? We’re hoping that somehow, magically, the answer will be yes.

You know something. I was so shocked and sad when I first heard about VMK closing. A bit of panic even set in. ‘What will I do?’ I wondered. After all I have been playing this game for 3 years. 3YEARS!! Who would ever have thought they could make a commitment to a virtual computer game for that long, let alone stop playing only because you are forced to??
Well a bit of time has passed and I am no longer shocked (albeit still sad inside) I have graduated to ANGER! I am so disgusted with Disney for doing this to me – to us. To ALL of us.
We have longed on to this game, rearranged schedules so we could be on certain times for either – certain Hosts events, new item releases, or just because there is that one particular time of day you can spend with that very special friend you made from across the world! Literally across the world! I have friends from the opposite coast of the US all the way out to the UK, that I have met and come to love as a part of my life. All because of VMK.

Thanks Disney for destroying that for me!

I am ANGRY about losing that special place to share a bit of the ‘magic’ with them
~sitting in the Blue Bayou in the mornings for our coffee talks
~racing down Main Street USA in our virtual cars (yeah the greenest was hardest to get but the pink is so awesome!)
~ floating on a snowflake with your buddy

Thanks Disney for destroying that too!

Why on earth would I ever want to try another Disney game, let alone pay for one, after this fiasco? First of all there is NO game ~ Disney or otherwise, out there today that contains all the elements that VMK offers us. We got to live inside Disney on VMK. We got to be a part of the magic! More than that we were able to create our own Disney magic for ourselves, building our own attractions for our friends to enjoy. All the while walking around in Mickey ears or space suits all day long if we wanted. We were kids here, all of us, as often as we wanted to be.
Well welcome to reality.

Thanks again Disney for destroying that as well!

It’s a slap in the face for all loyal Disney fans that have invested~
• Our time
• Our money
• Our loyalty
• Our emotions

Thanks Disney for pointing out the fact that we are nothing but a number to you.
Years of our lives invested in the Disney magic, planning trips to do the VMK quests in the parks and buying whatever VMK merchandise we could get our hands on, just to have YOU the GREAT DISNEY COMPANY, decide that – “Oh sorry- this 3 years long promotion (oh did we fail to make that part clear) is over now. Thanks for playing, have a good life- BUH BYE!
Thanks for caring that all the people that are unable to get to the parks now lose even the slightest glimpse of the Disney magic they enjoyed.
Thanks for closing the doors on all of the kids that are sick or just unable to make friendships otherwise.
Thanks for taking away the moments all those adults that cherished being able to feel like a kid again.

I am not sure when – if ever, I will be able to visit a Disney Park without that dark cloud of this mess hanging over my head. Certainly won’t be anytime soon as even my desire to be in Disney a park is gone. How will I ever look at Disney the same way again? I am just not sure at this point.

I thought Disney was the place where dreams come true. Well, apparently that is only the case if your dreams are in line with the Disney Company. Otherwise too bad, so sad.

I am writing to tell you about a magical place. A place where young and old can gather to play, learn and enjoy the Disney Magic. A place envisioned by an amazing man who dreamed of places where families could gather and have fun leaving behind the real world when they entered. A place that only the magic and creativity of Disney could build.

Where is this place you may ask? It sounds magical and fun. The first thought you may have of course is that it is Disneyland- but this is not the place I speak of. It is a form of Disneyland in a different technological age. The place I speak of is Virtual Magic Kingdom.

VMK started out as what Disney thought would be a promotion for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. So they built this amazing virtual world to replicate Walt’s amazing Disneyland.

They threw open the gates and invited us in. We came slowly at first but once word spread we grew. VMK did not become an online park where we entered for a while then left. It became a community built by its players. A community of young and old, sick and well, and people of all races from near to far off distant countries. Here we found a place that evoked the Disney spirit in all of us. We played, danced, built rooms and formed friendships in the spirit of the man himself Walt Disney.

VMK was growing and becoming more popular so that when the promotion ended the gates were left open and our community flourished. There is no place like it on the Web where children and adults can play in a safe controlled atmosphere. I personally found a place where I and my 13 year old son could be together. We shared in this wonderful kingdom built only as Disney can do-amazing graphics, fun games, a sense of being part of the parks and much pixie dust.

They created our characters to look lifelike, like little people. We named them, dressed them, and formed their personalities. They became part of us. We look forward and enjoy seeing our little people everyday.

Suddenly on April 7th we were hit with an unbelievable devastating blow. On May 21, 2008 our kingdom, our community will cease to exist. The shock that took over was beyond belief. I felt numb, weak, and sick to my stomach, like I had been hit by a bat. How can this happen? How can a company as compassionate as Disney allow the doors of our Kingdom to close?

The news crushed my 15 year old son (slinkyman). VMK has become part of his life, part of his daily routine. A day is not complete without seeing his little person who he created to look like himself. After a few moments the shock and reality sank in and the tears started to flow. WE hugged and just cried asking how, why, how can they?

You see VMK is not just a mere game to us. Six months after slinkyman started playing VMK he was diagnosed with cancer. A shocking blow to any family made worst it being a child. I found my strength to get him through this, and then an amazing thing happened. Thanks to the spirit of Disney he took refuge in his Kingdom. In VMK he was not sick. He was a normal kid that still had hair and he had many friends. He had a support team in this community that was not available elsewhere. Cancer scares many people and our family pulled back-offering no support or visits. Here in VMK slinkyman and I have a community of amazing friends. They talked, listened, comforted us, prayed for us and sent mountains of pixie dust our way.

Through out his treatment whenever we were at the hospital slinkyman would take along the laptop with him. During these painful and scary days of treatment he would play VMK as the poisons to kill the cancer were pumped into his body. Doctors and nurses would ask him what he was playing and he would passionately tell them of a place only envisioned in dreams. VMK became an instrumental tool in his recovery. We have made life long friends and have wonderful support thanks to the magic of Disney. So to us it is so much more then a mere game. It is in our soul.
I had a friend tell me the other day the VMK is in slinkyman’s DNA- they could not be more right. I was able to save my son from cancer but I fear I will not be able to save little “slinkyman” from the darkness that is about to be bestowed upon us.

Please I beg you to reconsider this decision. Please hear the cries of young and old and let our little people live. I can not imagine a day without seeing the face of my little person. I like may others are then willing to pay to keep this community of ours alive. Please consider this option. Please show compassion and Disney spirit and show the children you care. After all in VMK the minds of our young a being filled with Disney and they will grow into adults that spend much money on anything and everything Disney.

In this Year of a Million Dreams I ask you to please dry a Million tears and let our dreams come true.

I am slowly realizing that Disney’s Year of a Million Dreams is really not for our dreams, but theirs. They no longer know what we guests want but rely on the Brand to sell whatever is thrown at us then expect customers to salivate over it like Pavlov’s dog.

Well we did salivate over VMK. Disney trained us well. And just a Pavlov did with his subjects we VMK players are cut off to wither away.

Disney’s callousness is cruel. Children and Adults painfully cry out as they mourn the virtual world they call home yet for the company it’s business as usual.

I will not play another online game created by Disney. None of them appeal to me but moreover I don’t want to emotionally invest myself in another “promotion”.

Thank you for this artical so very much I dont think vmk should close I think it is the best game ever with ot really spending money and you get to learn new social skills if vmk closes I will cry because i was on here since I was 3 years old I was a smart three yearold but why should vmk and the people on it suffer and if you see me im SmallyHolly on vmk so be my friend because we can it dosent matter vmk is closing i wish it wont and if you go to Virtual Family Kingdom then you will see a peatition to sign to save vmk so please sign to help vmk. :(

I love vmk and its crushing me to see it go. I dont know what to do . I cant let vmk go down in flames so if you play vmk go on and party tell your brain hurts and vmk is over. If Walt Disney was still alive he probably would’nt want vmk to close either. We all love vmk and we have spent three years of lives playing vmk (the best years of my life) just to see it ripped right out from under my feet. I dont know what to do im falling and the only thing that can lift me up is vmk .Plz dont take it away from us we need you vmk.

I really loved this game. I think I speak for everyone when I say this: Walt Disney would NEVER approve! This game gave life to little children’s eyes. Why close it? Children believed in the magic when they played this game…

I am very sad that Disney decide to terminate VMK.I thought that VMK was the perfect advertisement for the Magic Kingdom. I love VMK and I would always look forward to being on VMK. I cannot believe it’s over. It gives me pain to realize it is over and that I wasted years of my life playing VMK. VMK even though it was a virtual game, it was part of my reality at the time. I feel as if I have lost part of my soul, of myself, through no fault of my own. This experience of losing VMK has been very devastating for me. The decision of terminating VMK is the biggest, dumbest, mistake Disney has ever made. Disney does not understand that VMK is what brought Disney to the 21 century and now it has regressed. The internet is the wave of the future. The internet is our generation. I do not think they at Disney realize what terminating VMK has set them back. The internet reaches far more people than they can ever imagine. The internet is international. VMK was the venue in which people would meet internationally through VMK-Disney. VMK I will miss you forever.

2 summers ago, i made a discovery… it was vmk. I loved disneyworld, best place ever. when i found vmk i was sooooo excited. i made true friends there, and i was myself, i turned over a new leaf, met people who really knew me… i made amazing friends, like princess clean queen. I used to stay up until 2:00 in the morning playing cute or boot, dancing in monorails, having fun with friends, floating on snowflakes, and all the other things vmk had to offer. then in january, my computer broke. i couldnt use it till today… june 3rd. i was so excited when i got home i rushed upstairs and went to vmk.com, only to find out that it was closed… gone forever. i started crying right there, and im still crying now, so many hours later. the time is 1:55. in 5 minutes, i will go to bed. but my dreams wont be filled with pixie dust and waterfalls and fake high school. no. they will be filled with anger and sadness and frustration at disney for killing-yes, killing- part of me. the part where i was carefree. the part that really believed magic. its all gone. I used to think disney staff card about the people who loved them for creating such wonderful expiences. but i guess that died with walt disney. he was a true man and he would never approve of this. i will never be able to walk into a disney park and see the staff members with the same hapiness i used to. there will always be that part of me that ceased to exist along with the magical experience know as vmk.

this is very disapointing to me..my brothers and i were very excited to come home and play vmk..but now disney has destrpyed our dreams.. and hopes we loved vmk so much and we all want it back no one is going to play another game everyone hates this decision is this a very bad call on disney..disney doesnt care about our dreams beacause if they did vmk would still be alive….how dare you disney

VMK was actully SOMETHING TO DO on the computer!!
Disney made a stupid wastse.Yep. Stupid waste.
Even its just one of those multiplayer talk online games, VMK was very fun and everybody if you wanna help save VMK go to SaveVMK.com
Sign a petition,
confirm it,
and maybe leave a comment to IsadoraQ she was one of the great disney company players and cared! She made the website and she got kids to sign.
Its very nice to that people care about things that have been closed and people who have lost friends. You might not actully know your friends but its just nice to know that, well, even friends can be made on a game.
Infact my BEAT FRIENDS on there are videogamegal, AstroAlice,mriethebee, and many more so if your reading, hope you find something to do on the computer. -_- Please go to saveVMK.com to help save VMK!

I might have only been on VMK for about a year but – cry – i lost 150 friends on there!! yes thats right i hit the friend limit. And people dictionary dancing WON’T GET YOU BANNED even the staff do it ( well HOST_Phinney does )Fin you were my fav host! IsadoraQ im gald you opened SaveVMK.com VMK will never leave our hearts and VMK will still have memories forever and if your older and still remember VMK tell your kids and tell your kids to tell their friends and have thier frinds tell everybody they could!That should keep VMK alive in hearts for about 20 more years.
I made a great speech in my own room and i said:

I bow never to play a disney game ever again.
Vmk was a fine game and it will never die in our hearts. It might be killed by disney but disney can’t take away memories.
Vmk might be a game – BUT IT WAS MAGICAL –
( just to be a kid i said )
DISNEY YOUR STUPID

I have signed the petition and vmk is closed atleast we tried i miss vmk so much.its like my home and all of my dreams came true and its the ony thing i was good at. Vmk has changed lives and dreams of kids like you and me.I miss vmk like others.Vmk has made me see the place i want to be everyday which to work in disney is my dream thanks for all the suppport this website made me really see how and why people loved vmk so much. I cried on the last day on vmk leaving my best friends and losing the perfect word of my dreams

I am so so sad that vmk closed i moved to another country but i always played it I was so sad when i saw that they closed it and now i am so bored cuz i cant find anything like vmk!!!!!!!!!!! OPEN IT PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!